Recently, not only a mobile phone but also computers, such as a notebook personal computer (hereinafter, abbreviated as “notebook PC”) and a so-called slate personal computer (hereinafter, abbreviated as “slate PC”), have each had an embedded antenna, whereby enabling data communications via radio waves. The slate PC has a rectangular plate-like shape, and includes a display screen fixed on its top surface. Meanwhile, there has been a strong demand to downsize and lighten these electronic devices such as the notebook PC, the slate PC and the mobile phone. On the other hand, there has been another strong demand to increase the size of a display screen that displays an image. To meet the latter demand, an electronic device is equipped with a display screen using a thin and lightweight liquid crystal panel or a display screen extending very close to the peripheral edge of the device's housing, and the like.
In this regard, an increasing number of electronic devices, such as notebook PCs and slate PCs as well as mobile phones, have each had an antenna embedded at a place such as beside the liquid crystal panel, and had radio communication functions. However, an electronic device may possibly be used at a location having an insufficient radio field intensity, and, accordingly, the antenna needs to be protruded from the device's housing. However, an antenna always protruded from the housing is obtrusive, and thus it is demanded that an antenna be normally housed in the housing, but can be protruded to the outside as needed.
Here, as a conceivable method for exposing the antenna housed in the housing to the outside, the electronic device is provided with a control member, and the antenna is exposed to the outside by controlling the control member. However, a demand for downsizing or the like has made the electronic device to have little room for antenna installation. Accordingly, if the control member has to be placed near the antenna, this causes limitation on layout positions of the other parts or members, and thus might prevent an optimum layout design of the electronic device. To avoid this, the degree of freedom of the layout position of the control member needs to be increased.
To meet the need, disclosed is a device including a rod antenna which can be freely housed or pulled out, and whose angle is changeable after the rod antenna is pulled out (Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 05-14027).
Meanwhile, a notebook PC having a rotatable antenna attached to the outer side surface is also disclosed (Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2001-67139).